When she posts on time!!! :P Happy Halloween!!!!!! <3

Luna quickly made her way across the castle grounds. It was not easy to do in the daylight, there were a lot of guards walking around and it was not like there were a lot of places to hide. Byul had given her the layout of the grounds, the easiest way in and out, alternate routes to take. She had a few close calls before she reached the barracks. 

For some reason, she was nervous, not of being caught but of seeing TaeOh again. She had been jealous of Byul. She snuck in here yesterday to see him because she got to go see the woman she loved as well. One thing she should be thankful for was that Byul gave her this opportunity to go to him. She could have asked any of the others to do it, hell, she could have done this herself, but she asked Luna to do it and for that she was thankful. She and Byul never really saw eye to eye, ever since they showed up at the Knight it seemed like they were always in a competition to see who ranked higher, then they continued to fight because of TaeOh, she wondered if they could ever be friends, but for now, they were still at war with each other despite the favor. 

Luna and TaeOh had not defined their relationship in any way. At first, she hated him, yeah he was handsome but he was cocky and annoying. But somewhere along the way, he turned into someone she could trust, and someone she began to care about. The day he had to leave she refused to face her feelings, sure they had something going on between them, they had for a while but she just let him walk away without even kissing him. Something she regretted when she realized she might not see him again. 

Luna did not use the door, she went around back to the window of his room, the third one on the left. She supposed she should be grateful the window was around the back and not in the front. Byul said he would most likely be sleeping since he had the night shift. She tried to be very quiet as she eased open the window to his room. She climbed in the frame and dropped a few feet to the floor. A figure stood in front of her, sword raised to her. “Who are you and what are you doing?” 

Luna could tell by the way he was dressed and the disheveled look of his hair, that she did indeed wake him up. “Chill TaeOh it is me.” She said as she pulled back her hood, red hair falling out and around her face. 

TaeOh’s eyes widened. “Luna?” He rushed over to her side, dropping his sword and collecting her into his arms. She tried not to notice how good it felt. “What are you doing here?” He sounded alarmed. “First Byul and now you, are you guys seriously trying to blow my cover?” 

Luna shot him a glare. “Like I would do something like this if it weren’t important.” She said hearing the ice in her voice.

“What is going on?” 

Luna tried not to think about the fact that he still had his hands on her shoulders. “We went to that cabin and someone showed up, we have him trapped but he isn’t talking.” TaeOh dropped his hands finally and cursed out loud. “None of us are trained in interrogation. So Byul and I came to get you.” 

TaeOh’s eyes flicked over the window as if he thought his sister was going to come tumbling in next. “She is waiting just on the other side of the property, she didn’t want to risk anyone recognizing her.”

TaeOh nodded. “Okay give me a few minutes to get dressed.” Luna didn’t have more than a second before he pulled his shirt over his head, her eyes drifted over his sculpted chest for a fraction of a second before she turned around, face burning. She felt hot somewhere else as well. “We will have to sneak out the back.” His voice came from over her shoulder. “If anyone sees us, I am sorry but you are going to have to pretend I paid you for your company.”

Her face heated again but with anger this time. “You wish.” She sneered. 

“You’re the one who came here, we need some kind of cover.” He touched her shoulder and she turned. “Let’s just hope no one sees us.” 

She scoffed. “For your sake, I hope so.” She said as they walked to the window. “Because if I have to say that you will be paying me in some way or another.” She tried to hide her smile as TaeOh gave a hard laugh, she did miss him. 

If you told YongSun four months ago that she would be holding her mother against the wall with a dagger to , she would have thought you were crazy. Then again, if anyone told YongSun she would be someone with magic, who fell in love with a female warrior and now worked against the very family she was supposed to marry into, she would have probably called the palace guards to have you taken away. And yet, here she was. 

YongSun’s mother’s eyes were wide with shock as her daughter pinned her against the wall. The images of her mother driving the knife into her father’s chest still flashed behind her eyes. There was nothing she wanted to do more right now than to do the same thing to her mother, yet she could not. Not because she didn’t want to, she wanted to. However, if she did, she would be exposing herself, and they were so deep into this mission, she could not risk it. She forced herself to look into her mother’s eyes, the same colour as her own. “Listen to me carefully.” She said through clenched teeth. “I know what you did so don’t try to deny it.” She pressed the blade a little bit harder, but not hard enough to draw blood, not yet. “You will not speak to me again.” She commanded. “Until the wedding, you will make yourself scarce around me, but do not make it obvious. When the wedding is over you will return to Thaiston and never stand in front of me again. You will remain, Queen, until I can track down my uncle to see if he is fit to take the throne, or otherwise until one of my heirs can take it.” 

She had no idea how she was going to do any of this considering she did not plan to marry Eric. She hated the thought of her mother running her father’s kingdom after what she did, but she would rule it well, she was willing to kill her father to keep it safe. Perhaps she really could locate her uncle. 

Her hands were becoming sweaty under the handle of her blade. “Don’t even think about telling anyone because I will know, and I will kill you for it.” Her hands began shaking with anger. “If something is to happen to me, I will make sure they will know who is to blame.” She didn’t say who ‘they’ were, but she’d make sure TaeOh knew about this, there was no way her friends would not avenge her. “I will make sure you die even if I do.” She waited a few seconds until her mother gave a sign of understanding. YongSun released her grip on her mother but kept her blade in hand, there was no way she could risk using her magic in the castle, it was bad enough she pulled out her blade, if anyone saw her she’d be done. 

Her mother straightened up, pushed back a few loose hairs on her head, and put on the face of a queen but YongSun could see the uncertainty behind her eyes. “You’ve changed.” Was all she said.

YongSun scoffed. “I changed the night I held my father as he died.” Her eyes leered into her mother’s once again. “I will never be the same princess you knew.” 

Her mother’s eyebrows raised. “Clearly not.” She clicked her tongue. “Do I have that warrior to thank for this?” She meant TaeOh.

“You have yourself for breaking me. And I have many friends to thank for helping me build myself into a stronger person.” Her voice almost choked on those words, thinking of all the people who helped her get here. “One day I will show you how strong I’ve become.” 

A small smile formed on her mother’s lips. “I think you already have.” She collected her skirts. “I hope we meet again on better terms one day.” She walked toward the door. “I will do as you ask.” Her eyes flashed with some sadness but it did not affect YongSun at all.

As her mother lay a hand on the door handle, YongSun finally put her blade away. “I hope I never see you again.” She said flatly. “But if we ever meet again mother, I will not hesitate to end you, just like you did to him.” Her mother did not say another word as she left. 

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, YongSun sank to the floor, head in her hands and she cried.

YongSun was on a warpath. She had cried her eyes out for about an hour, as soon as she was able to compose herself she decided it was time to get the answers she needed, no more of this political crap, no more hesitation. She went back to her bed chambers and changed into a more comfortable outfit, a shirt, and breeches, dagger strapped under her chest for easy access. 

She marched with purpose through the castle. With each step she pulled for more power from within, it was easier than she thought, she just thought of her father, his love for her. She thought of her friends on the outside of the castle, working hard to get back the people they love. Her love for them filled her with power. 

She had her eyes set for Henry, she wanted to wrap her hand around him and pull every memory from his head until she got every drop of information she needed, but that was too risky, a step she could not take yet. Instead, she set her eyes on his guards, the ones he kept close, all while she was looking out for JongKook, she would not let him get away, she didn’t care what TaeOh said, she knew how to extract from people without them even noticing her presence in their mind. She could end this today, and she would if she could. 

The guards that were closest to Henry would be within his area, she couldn’t get close enough to touch his number one, not without questions but after her time in this castle, she marked the ones that were close enough to him that they would know something, the ones with a haunted expression behind their eyes. 

She found one of them fast. She didn’t know his name, she didn’t care. She brushed past him, making sure her skin touched his as she did. Flashes of his life flicked through her mind, awful things that he had done in the name of the crown. There were also nice things, there was lo